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Bridges International & International Neighbors

Bridges and International Neighbors both connect international students with American students like Grace’s college group and also offer opportunities for international students to explore who Jesus is.

Serving Avenues

Make meals for Bridges or International Neighbors. These meals create space for Americans and International Students to connect and explore the person of Jesus.

Host an event like apple pie baking or hay rack ride so American students can connect with International students.

Provide transportation to events that help connect inter- national students with American students.

Dream Center

The Dream Center works to strengthen and empower families with a particular focus on fathers and youth. The means are through support, advocacy, lifelong education, and community connections. The Dream Center was born as a response to the growing number of youth being affected by absentee and non-involved fathers. In working with this target population, it became apparent that in order to effect positive change, a more holistic, family-focused approach was needed. Currently, the Dream Center offers a variety of programs for youth and adults that are designed to empower them with the skills and attitudes they need to be successful. In each of the programs, they provide their clients with a positive, nurturing environment that encourages leadership, community involvement, and personal responsibility.

Serving Avenues

Make meals for the tutoring program once a month. Your group would prepare and deliver a meal of one main, one or two side dishes, a dessert and a beverage for approximately 40 youth. If your group would like, you can also stay and serve the meal.

Extending Grace

Extending Grace is a ministry of Grace Community Church that provides clothing and supplies to assist foster families who are receiving a new placement. We collect, organize and provide clothes, infant supplies, and other items to help foster parents or Safe Family placements.

Serving Avenues

Donate new or gently used clothing (size newborn-10/12).

Sponsor activity packs (spring) or backpacks (fall).

Set up and tear down for our biannual giveaway events (April and August).

Hospitality for Empowered to Connect simulcast training for foster parents.

Friends of International Students

Friends of International Students is a nonprofit independent organization that pairs international students with American hosts. Often international students will complete their training at the University without ever having been invited into an American home.

Serving Avenue

Sign up as a group to host a student(s) on a monthly basis. We’re asking you to pray and consider if you can commit to welcoming a student into your home for dinner or taking them out for ice cream.

Job Lab at the Shelter House

The Shelter House in Iowa City is more than a roof and a bed. One of the offerings of the Shelter House is the job lab where folks can borrow a Chromebook to make a resumé, practice interview skills and apply for jobs.

Serving Avenue

Man the job lab to extend the hours of its availability to the participants.

Johnson County Crisis Center Food Bank

The Mobile Pantry Program provides monthly grocery assistance to residents of underserved and/or rural mobile home parks in Johnson County. The Mobile Pantry offers a variety of perishable and non-perishable food items, as well as baby and household items. Clients may choose the items that work best for their family, with some limits based on household size. This is also one of our most flexible serving opportunities!

Serving Avenues

Staff the mobile pantry once a month

Pulling items from the Food Bank warehouse, loading them into vehicles, and unloading onsite.

North Liberty Community Pantry

The North Liberty Community Pantry exists to engage our community in feeding and clothing our neighbors. It empowers neighbors to share resources to provide opportunities towards an improved quality of life, and volunteers are essential to that mission. Their volunteer team keeps the pantry running smoothly. Because they provide training for each volunteer opportunity, the only general requirement is a caring and positive attitude toward other volunteers and the families they serve.

Serving Avenue

Commit to serving at the pantry once a month for a two-hour window by bagging groceries, stocking shelves or doing administrative work.

Safe Families

Safe Families for Children is a movement fueled by compassion to keep children safe and families intact. Through Host Families, Family Friends, and Family Coaches, they temporarily host children and provide a network of support to families in crisis while they get back on their feet.

Serving Avenue

Support current host families. In the same way, we have community groups that support our overseas missionaries, a community group could rally around a family or a few families that host by helping in crisis situations with small tasks, driving, providing goods, etc.

Senior Living Worship Services

churches come together to provide weekly worship services at Keystone in North Liberty. This provides a space and place on Sunday afternoons for residents to connect with God and others in the community.

Serving Avenue

Help host services one Sunday a month at Keystone Chapel. Skilled folks needed are musicians, teachers, bakers, and hospitality.

Table to Table

The mission of Table to Table is to keep wholesome, edible food from going to waste by collecting it from donors and distributing to those in need through agencies that serve the hungry, homeless and at-risk populations. Since it began in April of 1996, Table to Table volunteers has rescued and distributed over 18 million pounds of food to area agencies.

Serving Avenues

Do a group shift monthly of data entry.

Do a weekly group shift of saving food and transporting it to community organizations that distribute it.